Itacitinib prevents xenogeneic GVHD in humanized mice

J Courtois, C Ritacco, S Dubois, L Canti… - Bone Marrow …, 2021 - nature.com
J Courtois, C Ritacco, S Dubois, L Canti, B Vandenhove, L Seidel, C Daulne, J Caers…
Bone Marrow Transplantation, 2021nature.com
We assessed the impact of the Janus Kinase (JAK) 1 inhibitor itacitinib on xenogeneic graft-
versus-host disease (xGVHD). XGVHD was induced by iv injection 20× 106 human
peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hPBMC) in NSG mice on day 0. Itacitinib (3 mg,≈ 120
mg/kg) or methylcellulose was administered by force-feeding twice a day from day 3 to day
28. Mice were followed for xGVHD score and survival. In addition, human T-cell engraftment
and as well as human T-cell subtypes were monitored in blood on days 14, 21, and 28 after …
Abstract
We assessed the impact of the Janus Kinase (JAK) 1 inhibitor itacitinib on xenogeneic graft-versus-host disease (xGVHD). XGVHD was induced by i.v. injection 20 × 106 human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hPBMC) in NSG mice on day 0. Itacitinib (3 mg, ≈120 mg/kg) or methylcellulose was administered by force-feeding twice a day from day 3 to day 28. Mice were followed for xGVHD score and survival. In addition, human T-cell engraftment and as well as human T-cell subtypes were monitored in blood on days 14, 21, and 28 after transplantation. We observed that itacitinib-treated mice had significantly longer survival than control mice (median 45 versus 33 days; P < 0.001). Further, they also had lower absolute numbers of human CD4+ T cells on days 21 and 28 after transplantation as well as of human CD8+ T cells on days 14, 21, and 28 after transplantation. In addition, itacitinib-treated mice had higher frequencies of human regulatory T cells (Treg) on days 21 and 28 after transplantation. In summary, our data indicate that itacitinib decreases human T-cell engraftment, increases Treg frequencies and attenuates xGVHD in NSG mice transplanted with hPBMC.
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